Iona Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Overall we had a perfectly ok holiday on Iona, but there were a number of key areas that left us disappointed. We would struggle to recommend to others.
The ship itself is nice. It's public spaces are all tasteful and contemporary, possibly a little on the bland side once the Christmas decorations came down, but overall create a nice atmosphere. The fully wrap around promenade deck is a great feature. There is plenty of outside deck space and seating.
Overall the ship handles the number of passengers well, we were always able to find a seat wherever we went, even during sea days when the weather was terrible, and never really had to queue for anything. The exceptions being the Horizon buffet and the Quays. The buffet was always chaotic at breakfast and lunch time (we never went in the evening). The layout is long and thin, as apposed to the island layout we've seen on other ships, which creates a crowded corridor. It was often difficult to find a seat. The Quays also has a poor layout, situated on the main corridor to the aft of the ship it was often crowded. We had no issues with the restaurant queuing system on the My Holiday webpage and only had to wait 10-15 minutes for a table at any tie.
Cabin Review
We originally booked a standard balcony stateroom on deck 10 but were upgraded to a Deluxe Balcony stateroom, Cabin 15449, on deck 15.
The cabin was spacious, bright, well laid out, very tastefully decorated, and had plenty of storage for the 2 of us for 12 nights. Drawers would be nice, but we were fine without them. There were plenty of power outlets and the USB points in the bedside lamps were very useful.
The bathroom was also very spacious and the shower was the largest we've yet seen on a ship. Water pressure was great and kept hot no matter long you were in the shower. There was no shaver socket if you use an electric razor so we had to shave in the vanity mirror in the main part of the cabin.
We have no problem with rooms only being cleaned once a day - the evening turn down service just isn't needed.
The problem with the room is with noise. It's right under the Skydome so if you want to sleep earlier than 11.15pm you hear the noise of the entertainment upstairs. You are also woken up about 5.30am by crew moving around the furniture upstairs. The metalwork of the balcony and fixtures and fittings in the room also creaks even in light seas which kept us awake.